Ginny McKensie’s life is spiraling out of control.

Finished with college, she should have been planning her wedding. After all, Ginny and Josh were made for each other—everyone said so. Except the love of her life didn’t agree.

Now Ginny is back in her hometown, unwillingly single, and stuck in a dead-end job. When she discovers she’s pregnant, Ginny is convinced her life is ending. Instead of planning a future with Josh, she’s learning the truth about morning sickness, juggling bills, and seeing just how far designer jeans can stretch.

Her life-plan never included dating again (not even with her too-hot new boss), or being a single mother at 23. Now, with the help of her best friends, Annie and Jen, Ginny must try to re-imagine—and rebuild—a life she never wanted.’

I really enjoyed this book. At first, I wasn’t really a fan of Ginny. I thought she was selfish and a bit too immature. Then again, she was supposed to be so she could grow throughout the story. In the end, I loved all three girls and the way they related to each other. As soon as I finished I had to buy the second book. I just had to know what happened next!

My Gemstone Rating:

Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man—perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined. Is this total immersion in a fake Austenland enough to make Jane kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

With this life-affirming tale of friendship and fate, Jane Green once again shows why she is a nationally bestselling author with legions of loyal fans. The story of a group of people who haven’t seen each other since they were best friends in school, they reunite when one of them dies in a terrible tragedy. Recapturing the intimacy of their younger days, they are each surprised at the impact their encounter brings. Warm, witty, and as wise as ever, Second Chance will strike a chord with anyone who is still trying to figure life out. I’m not sure what happened to Jane Green’s writing craft in this book; the POV jumps wildly in and out of various character’s heads, sometimes in the same sentence. The tense shifts from present to past and back. I suppose the effect is supposed to be one of sitting over a cup of tea with a good friend and having a gossip about other good friends. Only problem is, the book doesn’t come with tea. The story is Green’s version of The Big Chill – a man dies (and why Green chose to make it a terrorist attack on US soil is beyond me; the means of death is very tangential to the story and a car accident would have served the exact same purpose) and his death serves as the impetus for his old school friends, who haven’t really seen each other in twenty years, to gather together. They are your usual collection of stereotypes in reunion stories: the woman trapped in a loveless marriage; the happily married couple who can’t conceive; the mousy one; the glamorous, alcoholic film star. No new ground is broken, although the familiar old tropes are trod on over and over. Still, like all familiar things, there is comfort in visiting and Green’s characters, if not highly original, are engaging

To Libby Mason, Mr. Right has always meant Mr. Rich. A twenty-seven-year-old publicist, she’s barely able to afford her fashionable and fabulous lifestyle, and often has to foot the bill for dates with Struggling Writer Nick, a sexy but perpetually strapped-for-cash guy she’s dating (no commitments–really). So when Ed, Britain’s wealthiest but stodgiest bachelor, enters the picture, her idea of the fairy-tale romance is turned on its head. Libby soon finds herself weighing the advantages of Nick’s sexual prowess and tender heart against Ed’s luxurious lifestyle and unlimited retail therapy. But when the diamond shopping commences, Libby is forced to realize that the time for “maybe” is up

Now with the negative parts said, I did still enjoy the book overall. It was not a waste of my reading time and it did have some great parts. Nick was by far my favorite character, at first I was not sure I would like him as he was being played up as a kind of wastrel but overall he was the brightest spot in the list of characters in this book, he is witty, funny and not a wastrel but a creative mind who may not have taken the best route to what he wants but he got it in the end.